An Exploratory Investigation of the Effect of Ethical Culture in Activating Moral Imagination

Journal of Business Ethics · 2007 · Volume 73 · Issue 2

Abstract

Moral imagination is a process that involves a thorough consideration of the ethical elements of a decision. We sought to explore what might distinguish moral imagination from other ethical approaches within a complex business simulation. Using a three-component model of moral imagination, we sought to discover whether organization cultures with a salient ethics theme activate moral imagination. Finding an effect, we sought an answer to whether some individuals were more prone to being influenced in this way by ethical cultures. We found that employees with strong moral identities are less influenced by such cultures than employees whose sense of self is not defined in moral terms.

Keywords

ethical culture, ethical decision-making, moral identity, moral imagination, organization culture

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